The Story of an Orphan: One-shots
by Mezzem313
Summary: This contains all the random chapters that I have written about Alison's story that are not in chronological order. WARNING: This is full of SPOILERS for this story, including Alison's lineage and other big reveals! So don't read it if you don't want anything spoiled for you!
1. Year 2: Chapter 4ish

**This "story" contains all the random chapters that I have written about Alison's story that are not in chronological order. You see, I'm having trouble getting inspired to write the rest of Alison's first year, but I'm inspired to write other parts of her story from her later years.**

 ** _WARNING:_ This is full of SPOILERS for this story, including Alison's lineage and other big reveals! So don't read it if you don't want anything spoiled for you!**

 **Year 2: Chapter 4ish:**

It all started when Alison was thinking how much she wanted to prank Lockhart while she was doing her potions work, and she got the idea to prank him by using a potion. But when her search in the library for a potion that would cause something hilarious and humiliating for Lockhart yielded little results, Alison got the great idea of making her own potion for this purpose. She thought back on the blue goo that she had made last year and how great a success that was. Now only if she knew how to manipulate the correct ingredients in order to make a certain effect.

That thought led Alison to do hours and hours of research in the library to discover a direct pattern on how different potion ingredients react with each other to produce a desired effect. However, in everything that she read, there was not clear answer. In fact, the more she read, the more confused it made her.

Alison asked herself who would have the knowledge that she wanted that she could talk to. Lee and the twins definitely didn't. As much as Hermione knows, if it wasn't in any of the books in the library, she most likely wouldn't know the answer. Alison couldn't think of any of the older students who would know and whom Alison could get an answer from.

That left the teachers. Dumbledore probably knew, but Alison couldn't ask him. Alison didn't think that McGonagall would know. Sprout might know since she produced some of the potion ingredients, but Alison reasoned that even though Sprout grew the ingredients, she didn't use them in potions. Madam Pomprey used potions in treating patients, but she didn't make the potions; Snape did.

Snape.

Snape would definitely know. From some of the potion books that Alison had read, Alison had discovered that Snape was not simply a scary potions professor at Hogwarts. He was in fact the youngest Potions Master in England and was well known for his expertise in potions.

So, yes, Snape would definitely know the answer. And if Alison would like to know, she would have to ask him. Damn her curiosity, and damn Lockhart for getting her into this.

:) :) :) :) :)

Alison cautiously went down to the dungeons. She felt like she was walking to her doom. She finally stopped in front of Snape's office and stared at the large oak door. The suits of armor holding axes on either side of the door only fueled her fear. It looked to her like they were there to chop down anyone that disturbed Professor Snape.

 _Come on, Alison_ , she told herself. _You can do this; you can knock on the door to Snape's office. You're a Gryffindor for Merlin's sake!_ Another part of her snidely combatted, _And being a Gryffindor is exactly why you should be afraid_. _Shut up_ , she snapped at that thought. She took several deep breaths and finally worked up the courage to knock on Professor Snape's door.

When the scene in front of her didn't immediately change, Alison thought to herself, _Oh, well. I tried. Better luck next time._

But before Alison could turn away, the door opened.

"What do you want?" Snape snapped at her with a fearsome scowl.

Alison had to fight the feeling that was trying to make her run away to safety. Instead, she answered, "I was hoping, sir, that you could explain some things to me about potion ingredients and how they react with each other to produce a desired effect. I tried to understand it by reading some of the books in the library (which I brought with me), but the different books only confused me. And since you are a renowned Potions Master (and since you are the youngest in England, you must be a prodigy and thus understand potions extremely well), I was hoping that you could explain it to me better than the books could. If that's okay with you, sir." Alison took another deep breath and looked at her shoes as she waited for the hypothetical and/or literal axe to fall.

Snape simply glared at Alison, judging whether aiding her would be a complete waste of his time or not.

After what seemed to be forever, Alison heard Snape snap, "Well, are you going to come inside or are you just going to stand there?"

Alison's head shot up in surprise. She was actually expecting him to refuse to help her. Alison quickly stepped through the doorway, saying "Thank you, sir."

Snape ignored her thanks and told her, "Sit down," while motioning to the chair on the opposite side of the desk than where he was taking a seat. After Alison had sat down, Snape ordered, "Explain to me exactly what you want to understand."

And Alison did. Alison told him how she wanted to know how different potion ingredients react with each other to produce a desired effect so she read almost all the potions books in the library, but the differing books only confused her more. The same ingredients can have different effects depending on what else they are mixed with and on how the ingredients are added. For example, the result differs based on if the ingredients are added all at once or over a period of time. Or if the ingredients were whole, chopped, squished, or dried. Or if the ingredients were basic or acidic. Alison concluded with, "Despite everything I've read, I can't seem to find a distinct pattern to follow to make a potion that has a specific desired effect. And I thought that if anybody would know the answer, it would be you, sir, since you are a renowned Potions Master."

There was an uncomfortable silence in which Alison was itching to know what Snape would tell her.

Finally, Snape told her, "You are indeed correct about the versatility of ingredients."

Snape paused again. The silence was making Alison incredibly impatient, but she knew that if she acted on her impatience Snape would never help her. So she waited.

Snape finally continued, "Besides studying the results of the experimentations that other people have performed, to really learn and get a feel of the effects of differing ingredients reacting with each other you have to actually perform your own experiments."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Alison blurted out then caught herself. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to interrupt."

Snape didn't immediately say anything, which both worried Alison and grated on her nerves.

"Indeed," Snape drawled, "it is extremely dangerous, but it is not a skill that can be gained by reading books. Instead, the skill must be developed. That is why if you are planning on continuing to develop this skill, you should first come to me with what you plan on doing and what you think the results of it would be. And _only_ after I have approved of it would you be allowed to perform the experiments in my sight. To begin, you should first attempt to modify potions that are well known."

Alison couldn't believe what she was hearing. She hesitantly verified, "You would be willing to help me with experiments?"

"Did you not hear what I just said? And here I thought you were not a complete dunderhead," Snape mocked.

Alison decided that it would be in her best interest to not respond to his taunts. "Thank you so much, sir!"

Snape gave her an unreadable look and said, "You are dismissed, Smith."

:) :) :) :) :)

As Alison was walking back to the commonroom, she reflected back on her conversation with Snape and how he, the feared Slytherin bat of the dungeons, had not only clarified information but also offered some more of his time and expertise to her, a Gryffindor dunderhead. _Well, apparently not a complete dunderhead_ , Alison corrected herself.

Still, the experience seemed so odd that it didn't seem real. Then again, she was a witch in a castle learning magic so she should take that into consideration when judging what is or isn't odd.

 _Maybe Snape was under the effect of a potion or spell, and that's why he wasn't so horri_ d, Alison thought to herself jokingly. _Maybe the twins did something to him_.

Then Alison stopped as a thought suddenly came to her, _How would she tell Lee and the twins about what Snape had said and offered, and how would they respond?_ Alison felt a headache coming on just thinking about it.

 **A/N**

 **Thank you all for reading! Check out my story The Story of an Orphan: First Year if you haven't already!**

 **Please review! I would love to hear about any comments, questions, concerns, or story ideas regarding this story that you have!**


	2. Year 3: Chapter 5ish

**_WARNING:_ This is full of SPOILERS for this story, including Alison's lineage and other big reveals! So don't read it if you don't want anything spoiled for you!**

 **Year 3: Chapter 5ish: Boggarts and Joke Shops**

After being forced to remember the details of Dan's death, Alison has been having nightmares of Dan's death and him berating her saying that it was her fault that he was dead.

When Lupin said that a boggart takes the shape of your fear, Alison's thoughts immediately jumped to Dan telling her that it was her fault that he had died. She couldn't think of a way to make it funny, and she couldn't face her fears (how Gryffindor she is, she thought snidely)

Even Neville's success didn't cheer her up too much or give her any ideas for herself.

Thus, when there were only four people ahead of her, Alison made a show of swaying in place then running to the wastebasket. Subtly pointing her wand at herself, she muttered the spell, _Emeticus!_ Thankfully, the spell worked, and Alison puked into the wastebasket. The act of vomiting once caused Alison to vomit again, her body to shake, and her to feel overheated.

After gagging one last time, Alison noticed the presences of Hermione and Lupin at her side. Alison looked up to them and with tears in her eyes said, "I don't feel well."

Lupin looked at Hermione and said, "Miss Granger, would you please take Miss Smith to the hospital wing?"

"Of course, Professor," Hermione replied. "Come on, Alison." Hermione helped Alison unsteadily stand up.

Lupin suggested, "Maybe you should take the wastebasket, just in case."

Alison smiled shakily, "I think I'm good now, Professor. But, thank you."

Alison felt all the eyes of the class on her as Hermione helped her to the door. Outside of the classroom, Alison asked, "Can we stop for a bit? I'm not going to puke again. I just need some time to recover. I hate how puking makes me feel."

"Are you feeling well?" Hermione asked, clearly concerned. "I've noticed that you've looked like you haven't sleeping well. Are you okay? Is it from getting attacked last year, because I've had some nightmares about that too."

Alison didn't want to discuss what her nightmares were really about, so she simply answered, "It's not nightmares that made me ill." _Because it was a spell_ , Alison continued in her head. "I did have some nightmares about getting attacked but those are long gone. I'm just not feeling well now, but I'll feel better if I just rest for a bit."

As Hermione sat next to her in deep thought, Alison reflected on the experience. Puking was definitely a good way to get out of class, but the act of puking was so unpleasant that Alison would not be forcing herself to do it unless it was really necessary. Too bad it wasn't not unpleasant because it would be useful as an excuse for skipping class. _Lee and the twins would definitely use it if it wasn't unpleasant_ , Alison thought fondly.

Then Alison had an epiphany. If Alison, the twins, and Lee could accomplish what she was thinking, then . . . yeah. Alison needed to discuss this with them.

:) :) :) :) :)

That night, Alison found herself sitting in the fifth year boys' dormitory. "I've had an idea today in class, and I think that you guys will like it."

"We're listening," the three boys said together.

Alison prompted, "What if we could make a potion or spell or something that would make you puke but then stop and not leave you with any of the unpleasant side effects that comes with puking."

"Where are you going with this?" Lee asked, clueless.

"Can you think useful that would be to get out of class?"

"But isn't there already a spell to do that?" Fred inquired.

"There's a spell to make you puke but it leaves you with the unpleasant side effects. I used the spell today to get me out of class, and I was indisposed until the next class period began."

Lee asked curiously, "Why'd you want to get out of class so badly?"

"For unrelated reasons," Alison waved his concerns. "The point is that if I had wanted to use that class period for something other than going to the hospital wing I wouldn't be able to after using the vomit jinx."

"So we need to come up with something that would only get you out of class-" Fred began.

"But not cause any long-lasting damage," finished George.

Lee commented, "It stinks that Zonkos doesn't sell a product that does that. It sounds like something they would."

Fred's eyes lit up and looked at George, who was doing the same to Fred. "We should-"

"Definitely. And-"

"Too true."

"It's a brilliant idea," the twins exclaimed in harmony.

Lee and Alison exchanged exasperated looks, only too used to this kind of exchange. "Will at least one of you be so kind to enlighten those of us whose brains are not attached to one another to what is so brilliant?"

Fred and George traded excited smiles and began, "Well-"

"You know how the puking-something sounds like a prank product-"

"And Zonkos, the only store that sells pranking items-"

"For now-"

"Doesn't sell anything like it-"

"Nothing similar to it at all."

"And we are the best pranksters-"

"And the best pranksters are inventive in their pranks."

"So we were thinking that we should invent the puking-something-"

"And other pranking products like it-"

"And other pranking products not like it-"

"And we could sell them-"

"And become a better store than Zonkos."

"Since we are so talented,"

"So brilliant,"

"And so good-looking"

"We could definitely be successful-"

"And even overtake Zonkos."

"Besides, we could never end up working at the Ministry-"

"Like Mom wants us too."

"We'll leave that to-"

"Perfect Percy," the twins ended together.

Alison and Lee were silent for a while, trying to process this enormous idea that would impact their future if they went along with it.

Alison went first, "I think that's a cool idea. I can help with the inventing, but I don't think I'd be any use with the business side of it."

Lee started hesitantly, "Well, I think it's an amazing idea for you guys, but I don't think I'd be that helpful in inventing products or in dealing with business stuff. Also, I want to be a radio host when I'm older, not a business owner. But I can definitely help with the advertising and stuff."

"And with being the test subject," Fred injected snidely.

Alison, George, and Fred all laughed at the expression on Lee's face.

 **A/N**

 **Thank you all for reading! Check out my story The Story of an Orphan: First Year if you haven't already!**

 **Please review! I would love to hear about any comments, questions, concerns, or story ideas regarding this story that you have!**


	3. Year 3: Chapter 6ish

**_WARNING:_ This is full of SPOILERS for this story, including Alison's lineage and other big reveals! So don't read it if you don't want anything spoiled for you!**

 **Year 3: Chapter 6ish: Another Brother**

While in a secluded corner of the library, Alison was approached by a fifth year Ravenclaw student who had blond hair and a round freckled nose.

"Are you Alison Smith?" he asked with no prompt.

"Yes," Alison replied hesitantly.

He continued almost impatiently, "This may sound like a strange question but were you an orphan at Sunny-Hills Orphanage when you were younger?"

"Yes, I was. Why?"

"Really? I wasn't sure if you were. I mean, the odds are close to zero that you were you, but I really wanted to know if you were you or not, you know?"

"No, I don't. What in Merlin's left shoe are you going on about, and who are you?"

"Sorry, I'm Eric." He looked at her eagerly, like he expected her to know who he was.

Alison didn't recognize him at all. "And I'm Alison, and I still have no clue who you are or anything so…"

"I'm the Eric who was best friends with you and Dan at the orphanage. You may not remember me because you were only five when I last saw you. We used to always be together until I got adopted, and then you never replied to any of the letters I sent you. And when I finally convinced my parents to take me back to the orphanage to visit with you and Dan, you guys were no longer there. You were gone, and nobody knew where you had gone."

As Eric was speaking, Alison gradually remembered him and what he was talking about. "You never sent any letters to Dan and me, and you never replied to any of the letters we sent to you."

Eric became excited, "You do remember! But you must be mistaken, I did send you letters, and it was you who didn't reply."

"No, it's you who must be mistaken. I remember how Dan and I thought you didn't care for us anymore since you got a new family and didn't answer our letters. And that's the reason we ran away from the orphanage; we didn't want to be separated from each other like you were from us."

"Believe me when I said I did send you letters and didn't receive any of yours. They probably got lost in the mail, or maybe that mean lady in charge (I forget her name) didn't send them."

"That's probably what happened," Alison agreed.

"So where's Dan now? He's not a wizard too, I take it."

Alison's demeanor immediately dampened. "He's dead, Eric. He's been dead for years."

"What?" Eric exclaimed, horrified. Madam Pince shushed him, so Eric continued whispering, "How? When? Why?"

Alison began the sad tale: "When Dan and I ran away from the orphanage, we were living on the streets of London. We survived and lived there for about three years, but when I was eight years old, we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. We had accidentally wandered onto a gang's territory, and they weren't happy about that."

Eric was completely silent when Alison talked, and Alison was surprised to find a huge weight being lifted from her as she finally told someone of the death of the only person who cared about her before she came to Hogwarts.

"There were about three of them chasing us, all of them big teenagers while we were malnourished fourteen and eight year olds. One of them had a gun and was shooting at us as we ran through streets and alleys, trying to get away.

"Then one of the shooter's bullets hit Dan's leg and he fell."

Tears began to run down Alison's face as she spoke. "I stopped and tried to get him back up and running, but I couldn't. Even though Dan and I both knew that we wouldn't be able to outrun them with his injured leg, I kept pulling on him, trying to get him back up.

"At the same time, Dan was continuously telling me to leave him there and run. 'Run as fast as you can away from here, and don't look back,' he told me, but I wouldn't listen.

"Then, in the middle of him telling me to run, Dan's head exploded."

Eric gasped.

"His flesh and blood splattered all over me, my face, my hands, everywhere. He had gotten shot in the head, and it was all my fault. Only after the deed was done did I finally listen to Dan's instructions to run fast and not look back."

Alison felt arms come around her and hold her as she cried.

"Hey," Eric comforted in a soothing tone, "It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is," protested Alison.

"No, it's not," countered Eric. "Listen to me. It was not your fault that Dan was shot. You were not the one who aimed the gun or pulled the trigger. Even if you had run, they still probably would have shot him. Besides, Dan wouldn't want you to blame yourself, would he?"

"No," Alison answered quietly.

"Then you should stop blaming yourself since it's not what Dan would have wanted you to do. Okay? Can you do that, for Dan?"

"I can try," Alison murmured.

"Good."

Eric held Alison until she had cried out all the guilt for Dan's death that she had accumulated over all these years.

"Better?" Eric asked when Alison had wiped the last of her tears away.

"Yeah, thanks," Alison said as Eric removed his embrace of her.

At that moment, the Weasley twins came around the bookcase that was separating her table from the rest of the library. The twins immediately noted her tear-stained face and a random boy and responded. They pointed their wands at Eric and growled, "What did you do to our little sister?"

Eric put both of his hands in the air and asked Alison surprised, "You got adopted by the Weasleys?"

Alison shrugged, and laughter was in her eyes as she replied, "Not officially. Only the twins have adopted me as their sister. It's a long and complicated story."

Unyielding, the twins both demanded, "You never answered our question. What did you do to our little sister?"

Eric looked pleadingly at Alison and asked, "Aren't you going to help me out here? I'm your brother, too!"

The twins exchanged confused looks but didn't lower their wands.

"Yeah, but you left me, so…." Alison enjoyed leaving him hanging.

"But we determined it was a misunderstanding and most likely Mrs. Mean Lady's fault. So you can't blame me."

The twins looked at each other and came to an agreement. For a third time they said, "You still never answered our question. What did you do to our little sister?"

Eric answered, "Okay, I told her how I'm a person who she knew when she was younger and who she viewed as a brother."

Alison injected, "And I started crying because he's turned out as such a disappointment."

"What?" Eric exclaimed, and from somewhere in the library Madam Pince shushed him again.

"I mean, you are a Ravenclaw, and you never knew I was myself until now when I've been at Hogwarts for years. Which brings up the question: How did you deduce that I'm me?"

"When they announced your name as a student who was petrified last year, and your name and your age matched," Eric explained.

"So there still is hope in Ravenclaw for you," Alison conceded.

Fred interrupted their banter, "So, do you want us to hex this bloke or not?"

 **A/N**

 **Thank you all for reading! Check out my story The Story of an Orphan: First Year if you haven't already!**

 **Please review! I would love to hear about any comments, questions, concerns, or story ideas regarding this story that you have!**


	4. Year 4: Chapter 1

**_WARNING:_ This is full of SPOILERS for this story, including Alison's lineage and other big reveals! So don't read it if you don't want anything spoiled for you!**

 **Year 4: Chapter 1:**

When Alison got off the Knight Bus in Ottery St. Catchpole, she was greeted by two identical smiles.

"Sister!" the Weasley twins called out as they sandwiched Alison in a hug between them.

"We haven't heard-"

"From you in-"

"So long."

"We thought-"

"You had forgotten-"

"All about us!"

Alison laughed and pushed the twins away so she could escape. "How could I ever forget the two most unforgettable people in the world?"

Fred and George pretended to scrupulously examine each other.

"It's true."

"It would be impossible-"

"To forget two-"

"Incredibly handsome blokes-"

"Such as ourselves."

Alison hugged both of them. As they walked to the Burrow, Alison told the boys, "I've really missed you guys. How have the joke shop stuff been coming along?"

The twins' faces darkened as they answered,

"Mom discovered it-"

"And she destroyed all that she could find."

"She yelled at us that-"

"Idiotic behavior such as-"

"Working on our joke shop-"

"Is why we didn't get as many OWLS-"

"As Bill, Charlie, and oh so perfect Percy-"

"And that we have to forget about-"

"Our joke shop-"

"Which she called an absolutely foolish idea-"

"So that we can focus on our schoolwork-"

"So we can get jobs at the Ministry-"

"Like Dad and Perfect Percy."

Alison had listened in horror throughout the entire explanation. "I'm so sorry, guys. I can't believe that your mom would do that. Are you still going to continue with it?" Alison knew what the twins were going to say from the determined look in their eyes.

"Of course-"

"We are."

"We managed to save most of the important stuff, like our notes and a few of our products, so it's not like we have to build everything from scratch," George said optimistically.

"And we'll be of age in less than a year, so Mom wouldn't be able to stop us then," continued Fred.

Alison inserted, "Your mom only wants you to be successful, so once she sees what amazing and successful entrepreneurs you two are, she'll probably wouldn't be on your back anymore. And once we get to the Burrow, you can put the joke shop stuff in my trunk so your mom can't find it."

The twins smiled at Alison. George said, "Thanks little sis."

Fred added, "And while they're in your possession, can you look over our notes concerning Potions and Charms?"

"Of course," Alison agreed with a smile. "After all, I have to do my job as the third co-owner of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes."

After a few more minutes of walking, George asked, "Do you want us to carry your pack for you?"

Alison put her hands on her hips, "Are you calling me weak, Mr. Weasley?"

George put his hands out in a defensive position. "I'm only trying to be helpful, like a good big brother."

Fred just stood there, snickering at George's panicked face.

Alison got a glint in her eyes and handed George her pack with a "Be careful with it, George." She then ran and jumped on Fred's back, and Fred let out an "Oooff!"

While George was laughing at Fred's plight, Alison whispered in Fred's ear. Fred smirked and ran towards the Burrow with Alison still on his back.

Alison called back to George, "Last one to the Burrow is the next test subject!"

At that, George put Alison's pack on his back and ran as fast as he could to his home; he didn't want to be the next test subject of their pranking products.

:) :) :) :) :)

Fred, with Alison on his back, ran passed several redheads to touch his house. Alison slid off his back quickly to touch the house too. George reached the house a few seconds later.

"You two cheated," George huffed as he dropped Alison's pack to the ground.

Alison gave him an innocent look, "You were the one who wanted to be helpful."

"Yeah, and I carried her on my back and still made it here before you. What were you doing? Stopping to pick some daisies?" Fred was out of breath also, but he had a satisfied smirk on his face.

Alison turned on Fred and gave him a mock glare, "Are you saying I'm fat?"

While Fred was sputtering, Mrs. Weasley opened the door and came outside. "Oh, Alison, dear, how are you? I hope the twins didn't cause any trouble; they were insistent on being the ones to guide you to our home."

Alison gave Mrs. Weasley a winning smile. "Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley. The twins didn't cause any trouble. In fact, George offered to carry my pack, and Fred carried me here. You raised two kind gentlemen, Mrs. Weasley."

Mrs. Weasley seemed shocked to hear the phrase "kind gentlemen" used in describing the twins. "Well, ah, thank you," Mrs. Weasley managed to say in her stunned state.

Alison looked around and noticed that Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and two older red-haired boys who Alison could only assume were Bill and Charlie were standing around them, intently watching the exchanges.

"Hey, Hermione!" Alison greeted. "When did you get here?"

"I arrived here a few hours ago. How have you been?"

"Even better now that I'm here," Alison answered with a grin. "How 'bout you?"

"I've been good. I've finished all my summer work, but Ron's barely started." Hermione sent a look at Ron that made him cower. "I also brought your trunk with me so you can start your summer work."

Alison said gratefully, "Thanks, Hermione. You're a life-saver."

In the break of the conversation, Ginny threw her arms around Alison. "It's great to see you!"

Alison returned the hug. "It's great to see you too, Ginny!"

"You and Hermione are sleeping in my room. Do you want to bring your stuff to my room now?" Ginny asked Alison.

"Sure," Alison said. When Alison picked up her pack to follow Ginny into the house, Alison turned to the twins and said, "Thanks for being so _helpful_." She smirked and winked at the twins before she went into the house.

:) :) :) :) :)

When Mrs. Weasley announced it was dinnertime, Alison followed Ginny and Hermione downstairs. Ginny led Alison to a seat between George and herself.

"Hello, Mr. Weasley," Alison greeted the head of the household as he sat down.

Mr. Weasley replied, "Hello, Alison. How are you feeling?"

Alison smiled, "I'm good, Mr. Weasley. Thanks for asking."

"Hello, Miss Smith," Percy greeted politely as he sat down at the table. "I hope you haven't been making any trouble lately."

Alison gave him a polite smile and answered, "Hello, Mr. Percy Weasley. I hope you haven't been making any trouble recently also. I heard you got a job at the Ministry, just like you wanted. Congratulations."

As was typical of Percy, he preened under what he took as a compliment. "Thank you. The Ministry is really a wonderful place of importance to work."

Before Percy could continue on his spiel about how great working at the all-important Ministry was, Alison quickly inserted, "I'll take your word for it." Alison looked at the two eldest Weasley sons, who were seated directly across from the twins, and directed her words towards them, "I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm Alison Smith."

"Bill Weasley," the man with the earrings said as he reached across the table to shake Alison's hand.

"Charlie Weasley," said the broad man with burns on his arms as he also reached over to shake her hand.

Alison grinned at Charlie, "So you're the famous Charlie Weasley, the Gryffindor seeker who Oliver, the twins, and apparently Professor McGonagall compares Harry to. And according to them, Harry was a better flier than you when he first started when he was a first year who didn't know how to play the game. I don't mean to insult you in any way, especially since you are regarded as one of the best seekers in recent history, but that just tells you how good Harry is."

Charlie looked dumbfounded. He asked the twins hesitantly, "Is Harry really that good?"

The twins answered alternately:

"Well, dear brother of ours-"

"Harry was the youngest seeker in over a century-"

"And that was after McGonagall saw him fly for the first time."

"Oliver was skipping when he told us this."

"Harry caught his first snitch in his mouth-"

"After someone was cursing his broom, mind you."

"He also caught the snitch when a rogue bludger was specifically targeting him-"

"And he wouldn't let us protect him. Stupid, Oliver."

"And Harry has never not caught the snitch-"

"Except for that time when Dementors attacked him-"

"And made him faint and fall off his broom at least fifty feet in the air-"

"But even Diggory agrees that it was a fluke and Harry should have gotten it."

"In short-"

"Harry is really 'that good'-"

"And better."

While the twins gave Charlie identical Cheshire Cat grins and Ginny and Alison giggled, Bill decided to take pity on poor Charlie. "Close your mouth or put some food in it, Charlie."

Mrs. Weasley put the steaming potatoes and chicken on the table and said, "Eat up." Everyone dug in.

:) :) :) :) :)

Alison and the twins were conversing about what Lee was doing this summer when Bill interjected himself into their conversation. "So, how did you and the twins become friends since there are two years of difference between you?"

The whole table became quiet because all were curious to hear how the friendship began.

Mrs. Weasley prompted, "I would like to hear the story also. You see, the boys would never tell us how you became friends when we asked."

"Oh, it's probably because they are being modest," Alison supplied.

"Modest?" Charlie snorted. In response, Alison aimed a kick at him underneath the table. By his flinch, Alison knew her aim had been true.

Alison explained, "Well, you see it was only about a month into school in my first year. I was having some trouble getting around the castle, and I ran into the twins."

"Literally," George muttered just loud enough for Alison and Fred to hear.

Alison stomped on his foot without a pause as she continued speaking. "They helped me out with my trouble, and after some more interactions similar to that we became friends. As I've told you before, Mrs. Weasley, your sons are kind gentlemen." Alison gave her a winning smile.

:) :) :) :) :)

After dinner, Alison and the twins sat on the ground outside discussing their joke shop out of the hearing of their mother. In the midst of their discussion, Charlie walked towards their group and sat down. Alison had quieted when she had seen Charlie coming, but the twins only paused for a bit before continuing talking.

"You know about the joke shop?" Alison asked Charlie.

Charlie leaned back onto his hands and replied, "Of course. How could we not with Mom screaming like a banshee about it? Right, Bill?" Charlie directed his last bit towards Bill, who had just stepped outside.

"What?" Bill asked as he made his way over to the group.

"The joke shop and Mom screaming like a banshee," Charlie verified.

"Yeah, she did. If there was anyone within a square-mile from here, they probably heard about it. Why? Do you know about the twins' joke shop?" Bill asked Alison.

At his question, the twins and Alison started laughing. They laughed even harder when they saw Bill and Charlie's confused faces.

"What's so funny?" Bill asked.

"Well, first of all-" George began.

Fred continued, "Alison is one of the three co-owners-"

"Of our joke shop Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes."

"And second of all-"

"She inspired us to come up with-"

"The idea of our own joke shop."

"And third of all-"

"She's played a vital role-"

"In the inventing of our products."

"So yes, she knows about the joke shop," the twins concluded together.

Alison and the twins laughed again at the older boys' surprised faces.

When they had calmed down, Fred asked, "So what made you come out here to talk with us, Charlie?"

"Oh, yeah," Charlie said as he remembered his initial reason for coming to talk with the twins. "Did you really have to kick me that hard at the dinner table, Fred?"

"What? I didn't kick you tonight," Fred answered.

"Neither did I," George provided.

Charlie prompted them, "Come on, I know one of you kicked me. It was right after I laughed at the idea of you two being modest."

The twins exchanged confused looks before a wave of understanding washed over them, and they turned to Alison who was being entertained by the exchange. "You kicked Charlie!" accused the twins.

"Me?" Alison asked innocently just as Charlie and Bill asked, "Her?"

"Yes, you," said Fred.

George added, "Don't think we don't see through your innocent act."

Alison dropped the act, "Well, what did you want me to do? He was making my story seem unbelievable. There are only so many details I can omit and ways I can tell a story to make you and me look good in your mom's eyes."

"Wait, what?" Bill injected.

"So you were the one to kick me!" Charlie exclaimed.

"Forget that part," Bill dismissed Charlie. "I want to know how they really became friends."

The twins and Alison had a quick silent conversation where they agreed to tell the older boys the truth.

Alison began, "Just so you know, everything I said was true. It's just that we didn't have as nice interactions as I implied, at least not on their side of it."

Fred embellished, "Yeah, did you know that the first time we met she framed us for a prank?"

George continued, "And the second time we met face-to-face she blackmailed us?"

"What?" Bill and Charlie exclaimed in disbelief.

Alison explained, "You see the trouble I had talked about at the table was really Filch on my tail after I had pulled a prank after hours."

George injected, "And she quite literally ran into us, holding buckets that had contained her prank."

Fred elaborated, "When Alison said at the table that we helped her out with her trouble, she really meant that we ended up being framed for her prank after she threw the buckets into our hands and ran while Filch found us standing there in shock holding the pranking buckets."

Alison continued, "The interactions that were similar to this that I spoke about at the table included when the twins tried to prank me by making my hair orange."

George added, "Which like the other interaction we had backfired on us when she came into our dorm blackmailing us."

Fred explained, "Then we realized how similar we were and if we didn't become friends she would end up getting us expelled."

George added, "Or she would end up killing us."

Alison concluded, "But I decided to take mercy on them and not destroy them and the school. And that was the best decision I ever made."

Alison gave the twins a heart-warming smile. The twins returned her smile and tackled her into a hug.

Bill commented to Charlie, "You know, for some reason, I thought the story of their friendship forming would have less detention and blackmail and more friendly interactions."

Charlie agreed, "Same. And I thought the twins actually made a friend in the way normal people do."

"That's where we went wrong. When had the twins, or any of their friends, ever been normal?"

 **A/N**

 **Thank you all for reading! Check out my story The Story of an Orphan: First Year if you haven't already!**

 **Please review! I would love to hear about any comments, questions, concerns, or story ideas regarding this story that you have!**


	5. Year 5: Chapter 1

**_WARNING:_ This is full of SPOILERS for this story, including Alison's lineage and other big reveals! So don't read it if you don't want anything spoiled for you!**

 **Year 5: Chapter 1:**

 **Chapter Warning: mention of abuse, slight cursing, and a mention of suicide**

Alison's day started off like most of her days that summer; Alison was sitting with her back against the wall in one of London's subways. She was playing her tin whistle, while people walking by would toss some money into the hat set on the ground in front of her. Despite the grimy, busy atmosphere of the subway, Alison was relaxed and content.

At least she was relaxed until she happened to meet the eyes of a familiar face. In a split second, his face mirrored her surprised face. However, Alison quickly averted her eyes and, skipping a few notes of the song, continued playing the tin whistle.

She had on a calm exterior, but under it, she was freaking out. She was hoping that he would think that he was mistaken and leave without telling anyone. Heck, she would even be okay if he just wouldn't tell anyone. She didn't need anyone to worry about her or question her reasoning for living like this. _They wouldn't understand anyway_ , Alison thought bitterly.

Thus, she was peeved when the cause of her worrying walked in front of her and stopped. Alison hesitantly met his eyes again.

"Alison, what are you doing here?" Remus Lupin asked with concern and bemusement clearly detectable in his voice.

Alison stopped her playing to reply, "I would think that it's obvious."

In response to Lupin's befuddled expression, Alison elaborated, "I'm playing my tin whistle. Now if you kindly step aside; you're preventing my profits from growing." Alison gave a pointed look to his feet that were next to her hat, and she resumed playing, hoping he would get the hint and leave.

Instead, only Lupin's expression changed to one of annoyance and surprise, annoyance for her response to his question and surprise for realizing that Alison was doing this for money.

"Why are you here and not at home in the orphanage? And give me a real answer, not one of your snarky retorts."

Alison stopped playing again and sighed loudly to convey her exasperation to him. She looked at him challengingly and answered, "As I would have thought to be apparent, I'm here to play and get money." Alison stood up straight to say, "The orphanage was never a home to me. I am home now."

Alison kept her stance as she watched Lupin's face morph into an unreadable expression. He stood there staring at her for a minute before saying, "Come with me. I'm going to take you somewhere where we can talk about this more privately." Lupin looked around vigilantly.

"Do we really have to talk about it?" Alison asked stubbornly.

Lupin glanced at her annoyed. "Yes, now let's go." He grabbed onto her arm to lead her, but she quickly pulled her arm away.

"Let me just get my things together and go to the bathroom first, sheesh," Alison said while rolling her eyes at him. She picked up her hat filled with money and put the money in a Ziploc bag before putting everything into her small backpack.

Lupin followed her to the doorway of the women's restroom where Alison turned to him and said, "I'll be out in a little bit," before she walked in.

Inside, Alison immediately locked herself in one of the bathroom stalls. Once again thankful that she had put an undetectable extension charm, albeit a weak one, on her small backpack, Alison reached inside for a set of clean clothes to change into, a washcloth to wash the dirt off of her, and a hairbrush to make her hair more presentable.

After putting her hair back into a braid, Alison examined herself in the mirror over the sink. She wanted to make her case for living by herself on the streets instead of in an orphanage as good as she could, and that included making it look like she can take care of herself, thus looking presentable.

Deciding that she looked good enough, Alison exited the restroom and found Lupin standing right outside. Still annoyed at him, Alison didn't even look at his face as she said to him, "I'm ready. Let's go."

Lupin led her outside and into an alley between two buildings. There, Lupin seized her arm and warned Alison, "Hold on tight," before he apparated her and himself.

"Where are we?" Alison asked sharply.

"We're going to Headquarters. Now read this, and think about what you've read." Lupin handed Alison a piece of parchment, which said:

" _The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London._ "

Alison, annoyed with Lupin but curious, quickly did as he ordered. Almost immediately 12 Grimmauld Place appeared. Lupin, still keeping a firm grip on her arm, pulled Alison into the house.

"Don't make a sound," Lupin whispered as he dragged Alison though the house. Finally they came to a door, and Lupin forcibly put Alison into the chair beside the door.

"Stay here and don't make any noise. I'll be right back." With those words, Lupin waved his wand at the door before opening and going though it.

When the door shut, Alison crossed her arms and legs with a huff and scowled. She examined the room around while thinking. She briefly wondered where she was and why Lupin brought her here. She concluded based on his reactions before that he must have brought her here either because this is a secure location for him and/or others to question her or because he was making a stop before going to a secure location to question her. Alison hoped it was the latter so that she had a greater chance to avoid questioning.

Alison quickly got bored as five minutes of waiting turned into ten and then into twenty. After about a half-an-hour of waiting, people began to file out of the room. Most of the strangers didn't even look her way, but those who did meet her eyes were given an impassive look.

Once the strangers had left, Lupin came out and brought her into the room.

Alison hesitantly entered the room, which looked to be a kitchen turned into a meeting room. She recognized the occupants of the room as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Professor McGonagall, Sirius, and Professor Snape. They all looked at her questionably.

They didn't look like they knew the reason she was there or how Lupin had found her, so Alison decided to play ignorant. "Why'd you bring me here? I doubt it's just for a social visit."

Lupin replied, "Tell everyone here how I found you."

Alison said nonchalantly, "Well, I was just minding my own business when suddenly Professor Lupin is there. He ordered me to come with him, grabbed my arm, and brought me here without an explanation."

"Remus!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "You can't act that way for no good reason, taking Alison like that. What were you thinking?"

Before Lupin could speak, Alison inserted, "Exactly. Professor Lupin was clearly not thinking straight, especially with the full moon coming, so can I go back home now?"

Alison noticed Lupin's eye twitching, but before he could say anything, Professor McGonagall stood up and spoke. "Of course you can. I'll take you now. I don't know what he was thinking." She shot a glare at Lupin.

Alison turned towards the door so no one could see her smirking. _Yes_ , she thought, _I evaded their questioning of my lifestyle_.

However, she thought that too soon. When she was almost out of the door, Lupin burst. "I found her in a subway, sitting on the ground, playing a flute for money. I asked her why she wasn't home in the orphanage, and her answer was, and I quote, 'The orphanage was never a home to me. I am home now.'"

Everyone froze. Alison looked around the table at all the horrified faces. Unsurprisingly, Snape's face was impassive as usual.

Professor McGonagall was the first recover from Lupin's outburst. "Is this true, Alison?" she questioned.

"It's a tin whistle, not a flute," Alison said grudgingly.

There was silence again while everyone was trying to process the information.

Sirius interrupted the silence by saying, "I thought you were living in a orphanage."

"And I thought you were on the run. It seems like we were both mistaken," Alison snapped, defensively crossing her arms over her chest.

"Where are you living if not in an orphanage, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked kindly.

"Where most street kids live, on the streets of London," Alison replied curtly.

"You can't live there!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed horrified.

"Why not?"

"It's not safe, and you don't get regular meals," Mrs. Weasley protested.

Alison shot back, "For your information, those are two reasons I left the orphanage for the streets. I don't get beat up on the streets like I did in the orphanage, and I can get food outside of the orphanage easier than inside of it."

The adults looked at her in shock. "What do you mean?" asked Lupin.

Alison reluctantly elaborated, "In the orphanage, the others would beat me up if I showed my face at a meal, and the cook would try to whack me over the head with his rolling pin if he caught me taking food from the kitchen. Also, I would get beat up by most of the other orphans when they would find me."

"Why?" Lupin asked.

"I don't know. Because I'm a street kid? Because I don't worship and do everything the bullies say? Because I simply exist? I don't know how their idiotic brains work." In her rage, Alison barely noticed the guilty looks glances Sirius and Lupin shot to each other and to Snape.

"What about the person in charge at the orphanage? Wouldn't they stop them?" Mrs. Weasley asked trying to understand how such a thing could happen.

"Ms. Waxxwart?" Alison gave a hollow laugh. "She encourages them to act that way towards me 'cause to her I'm just a pain in her arse. I'm better off on the streets where I belong. As Ms. Waxxwart always told me, 'Once a street rat, always a street rat.'" Alison finished with a small smirk.

"What do you mean 'once a street rat'?" Sirius asked.

"Street rat is a term describing a kid living on the streets," Alison said rolling her eyes.

Sirius clarified, "I meant the 'once' part. Were you living on the streets before?"

Alison smirked proudly. "Yep. I lived on the streets from age five to age eight and for the past two summers including the current one."

"And you were in an orphanage before you were five?" Lupin asked to clarify.

"Ah-huh. And I got adopted at least five times from the first orphanage and returned that many times to the orphanage like a wrong package is returned to a store. People are just so kind," Alison said sarcastically.

"What about the second orphanage? How many times did you get adopted from there?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Alison laughed without any humor. "Nobody gets adopted from Moredoor Orphanage. That's where they send the troubled kids: street kids, kids who can't get adopted, and kids who get in trouble with law but don't get sent to juvie. The majority of the kids who leave run away and are either caught and returned (and we get told how foolish they were to run away) or found dead (and we get told how foolish they were to run away). Another percentage of the kids who leave are taken to juvie for their crimes, or they leave when they are eighteen. Yet another percentage leave dead, either by being killed in the orphanage by someone or by suicide. During the second week I was at Moredoor Orphanage, a kid hung himself from the bars on the window over his bed, and I got his bed after his corpse was removed."

Alison smirked ironically at the appalled faces in the room. At last they were understanding why she couldn't return to the orphanage.

However, Snape wiped that smirk off her face. "What caused you to leave there, though?"

"I told you that the conditions there were horrible," Alison stubbornly said.

"And I heard you. I also know that you were spending most of your days there during the Hogwarts summers working and eating outside of the orphanage and only coming back to sleep at night. So the question is 'What caused you to leave the orphanage so abruptly during the first few weeks of summer vacation after your third year at Hogwarts?' It had to be something significant since otherwise you would have not returned at all to the orphanage after leaving school."

Alison had paled while he was speaking. She managed to force out, "How do you know so much?"

Ignoring the eyes on him, Snape answered, "After discovering that you were Alya Black, my goddaughter, late in your third year, I decided to assess your living conditions and how you were treated outside of school. However, when I arrived at Moredoor Orphanage at the end of July that year, I discovered that you were no longer living there. I then looked at your records which stated that you were still there; so I proceeded to question that horrid woman in charge."

Alison snorted despite herself. "I doubt that she just told you everything, since she most likely claimed I was still living at Moredoor Orphanage so she could get money from the government."

Snape's lips turned slightly up at her reaction, and he confessed, "Indeed, she did tell me that after she drank beer that contained a few drops of my modified Veritaserum."

"Severus!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed. "You can't just give Muggles Veritaserum."

"Why not?" Snape asked raising an eyebrow. "I didn't explicitly use magic on a Muggle. It didn't harm her. And it didn't reveal anything about our world since it was modified so that she wouldn't remember the conversation. Furthermore, she was the one to drink the beer; I didn't force her to."

Professor McGonagall merely huffed at his answer since she couldn't immediately think of a good counterargument.

"Nonetheless," Snape looked back at Alison, "you never answered my question. What caused you to leave the orphanage abruptly?"

Alison blanched and said stubbornly, "That's none of your concern."

Her response caused the others in the room to look at her curiously. Alison had answered all their other questions, even if some of her answers had been vague.

"Actually, it is my concern since I am your godfather."

"How come you never acted like it before?" Alison shot back.

"Stop attempting to evade my question and answer it. What caused you to leave the orphanage abruptly?"

"You can't make me."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "I can make you answer. I happen to have a vial of Veritaserum in the pocket of my robes currently. Also, I can use Legilimency to search through your mind to find your memory of what caused you to leave. So you can either tell me or I can make you."

Professor McGonagall began to protest, "Severus, you-"

But Snape cut her off with a vicious glare.

Alison thought quickly. She would have to tell him either way. However, two required her to say them out loud for everyone to here, while one was in her and Snape's minds. The only problem with Legilimency was that he would have to search through her memories to find the one he wanted.

"Well?" Snape asked.

"If you used Legilimency, is there a way for you to only view that memory?"

Snape and the others were taken aback by her question. Snape asked her to clarify: "You would rather me look into your mind and view all the details instead of you saying it out loud?"

Alison solemnly nodded. "Yes, it's easier for me to show you then to say it out loud for everyone to hear. I trust you to keep most of the details to yourself and help me to tell the others if they need to know. So, is there a way?"

Snape composed himself before saying, "You would just need to concentrate on the beginning of that memory and look into my eyes while doing it. Don't put up any resistance."

"Ok," Alison said nervously. "Should we do it now?"

"Yes. Ready. Concentrate. Look at me when you are ready."

Alison concentrated on the beginning of her memory and then looked up into the dark eyes of her godfather.

"Legilimens," Snape said, and he and Alison began to view the memory that caused her departure from Moredoor Orphanage.

Memory:

Alison was standing alone in a room that contained multiple beds. She was looking through her backpack on the bed under a barred window. Alison was focused on searching for something, so she didn't notice that she wasn't alone in the room anymore until a large mass grabbed her wrists and put them over her head while slamming her back and head into the stone wall.

When Alison opened her eyes through the pulsing pain in her head, she was able to identify her attacker.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Brent?" Alison spat at him.

Brent put his head so close to hers that she could smell the alcohol in his breath and replied, "What does it look like?" He looked appreciatively up and down her body. "I'm gonna enjoy how much you've grown up when you were away."

Panic filled the rest of Alison's head that wasn't already in pain. She started to struggle to get away from him. But her struggling was in vain; Brent was stronger than her so he was able to keep his tight grip on her wrists.

Brent chuckled, "Don't be like that." Brent used his free hand to rip open the button down shirt Alison was wearing. Brent glared at the camisole Alison was wearing under the shirt. He growled, "Why so many layers?"

When his hand moved to remove that, Alison's body moved on instinct. She kneed him in the groin then stomped on his foot in the same movement. Brent's grip on her wrists loosened, so Alison was able to rip free. She elbowed him in the neck and then punched him in the face. Brent fell to the ground. Alison immediately kicked him, and his head hit the metal frame of a bed.

Without checking on Brent's condition, Alison snatched her backpack and ran. She ran out of the room, through the hallway, and into a small room filled with books. Without pausing, she jumped through the open window and fled into the streets of London, never looking back.

In 12 Grimmauld Place:

Snape was furious; anyone could see that. Alison wasn't meeting anyone's eyes. The others in the room were wondering what happened in her memory.

"Was that the only time he did that?" snarled Snape.

Alison answered, "To me, yes. To others, I don't know but it's likely."

"I'm going to kill him."

The others were shocked by Snape's declaration and his rage. Snape's usually impassive, so it was extremely odd to see him so enraged. Alison's response also shocked them.

"Okay, just don't get caught."

"I never do."

Snape and Alison exchanged such dark smirks that the others were unsettled.

"Um, let's not kill anyone," Lupin said, but he was ignored.

"Who is getting killed?" Sirius asked.

"Nobody is getting killed!" Mrs. Weasley and Professor McGonagall exclaimed at the same time.

"A little bastard who deserves it is going to die. And yes he is." Snape replied.

"May we hear the reason why this person deserves to die?" asked Lupin.

Snape snarled, "That bastard attempted to rape my goddaughter."

The others gasped, horrified.

Alison, trying to not be in the spotlight again, feebly protested: "It wasn't attempted rape."

Snape growled, "He had you pinned against a wall and was trying to remove your clothes without your permission to 'enjoy' you. I call that attempted rape."

Mrs. Weasley looked as if she was about to burst into tears, while everyone other than Alison looked as if they wanted to tear Brent to shreds. In their anger, they started proclaim what they will do to Brent when they find him. Mrs. Weasley got out of her seat with the intention of comforting Alison with a hug and saying, "Oh, poor dear…"

Alison had enough. She stood up and shouted, "Shut up!" Everyone froze. "I don't care what you do to him, but I don't want your pity. In fact, I don't want to hear about it at all. That's in the past, and I don't want any reminders of it. Now if someone could please tell me where we are or just point me in the direction of London, I'll be out of here. I just want to go home to the streets of London."

That shook the adults out of their current states.

"But you can't go back to the streets! They're not a suitable place to live," Mrs. Weasley protested.

"It's not polite to criticize people's homes, no matter how humble, Mrs. Weasley," Alison deadpanned, making Mrs. Weasley blush. Interrupting other protests, Alison quickly continued, "And I have places to be. I'm suppose to meet some friends somewhere before dark, so I better get going." Alison started walking to the door.

Quicker than she thought was possible, Sirius was next to her, blocking her way out. He questioned her, "Who are these friends that you never mentioned before and where do you need to go before dark?"

Alison sighed loudly to convey her annoyance. "My friends are other street kids. We're in the same street kids society, and I need to get to headquarters before dark so I can go to sleep in a _safe_ environment."

"So you're meeting up other homeless kids in this _society_ of homeless kids to go to your _headquarters_ , which is probably in some abandoned shack or alley," mocked Sirius.

Alison straightened herself and scowled at Sirius. "First of all, we're not homeless. Homeless is implying that we don't have homes, but we do. Second of all, our headquarters is not in any of those places and is probably cleaner than this place and definitely has more love to it than here." Alison pointedly looked at a heap of dust on a shelf in the room. "Third of all, you never, and I mean _never_ , insult our society. We are a secret society which protects its members, teaches them how to protect themselves, and helps them survive in a world where they are surrounded by people who scorn them for what they are, street kids. They have gone through things in their short lives that you can't even imagine. So, shut…your…mouth." Alison's glare made Sirius take a step away from her.

Alison turned towards everyone else, and with a short wave she said, "Good-bye."

Before she could make it out the door, Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "Wait!"

Alison made a show of her exasperation by sighing loudly, rolling her eyes, and turning around slowly. "Yes?" she drawled.

"The twins, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione are upstairs, and I'm sure they would love to spend some time and visit with you; so maybe you could stay here with us for several days or weeks. What do you say?"

Mrs. Weasley sounded proud of her idea to prevent Alison from returning to her life on the streets of London. However, Alison saw right through her plan and knew how to counter it and bring up another issue.

"I would love too, and I'm sure Harry would also. Has Harry been by to visit yet? How is he doing?" Alison smiled innocently at the looks exchanged by the adults.

"Harry's still at his aunt and uncle's house, and he's doing fine," Lupin answered.

Alison frowned. "Liar. Harry's not 'fine', and you would know that if you bothered to correspond with him."

The adults also frowned. Lupin asked, "What do you mean?" At the same time, Sirius asked, "How would you know?"

"Harry feels so lonely and abandoned by his friends that he owled me a couple weeks ago. As you might have known, I had told everyone to only owl me if they absolutely need to communicate with me since I'm always surrounded by Muggles. In his letter, he asked me if I knew anything about what's happening in the wizarding world or about what the Weasleys and Hermione are up to since no one is telling him anything. I replied that I didn't know, and I asked for his phone number so I could talk to him. He sent back his phone number immediately, and I called him from a payphone. I had to threaten his uncle so I could talk to him, but…whatever." Alison shrugged.

Alison continued, "He then poured out all his woes to me, and I decided to visit him so I could provide some comfort since no one else was." She glared at the others.

"You did what?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"I visited Harry. He looked horrible. Since he's been bottling up everything, he ended up telling me about how he only has his owl to talk to since everyone else he contacted told him that they couldn't talk and how he has nothing to take his mind off the horrors that he experienced. Through an encounter with his bully of a cousin (which involved me punching him), I learned that Harry has been having nightmares about his parents, Cedric, and You-Know-Who and that his relatives either tease him about it or tell him to shut up. In the end, I went to his aunt and uncle's house to introduce myself as Harry's murderous godfather's niece, and I kindly told them to treat Harry better.

"I don't know why the people who spend so much time arguing with a girl about her lifestyle can't spend even a fraction of that time with Harry, someone who everyone in this room cares about. Except Professor Snape. But that's not the point. You're harming Harry's wellbeing by keeping him at his aunt and uncle's house without any _real_ communication."

Before anyone could comment about her rant, Alison stated, "Owl me when Harry arrives here, and only then will I come back to visit. See you then."

Alison swiftly escaped the house. By using the directions she received from several random Muggles, she was able to find her way back to the part of London she was familiar with and back home.

 **A/N**

 **Thank you all for reading! Check out my story The Story of an Orphan: First Year if you haven't already!**

 **Please review! I would love to hear about any comments, questions, concerns, or story ideas regarding this story that you have!**


	6. Year 5: Chapter 5ish

**_WARNING:_ This is full of SPOILERS for this story, including Alison's lineage and other big reveals! So don't read it if you don't want anything spoiled for you!**

 **Year 5: Chapter 5ish: Seamus, Umbridge, and Olopwatbup**

"I'll meet up with you guys later," Alison told the twins. "I'm going to find Seamus." Rolling her eyes at the kissing noises that the twins were making, Alison headed off down the train.

Alison finally saw Seamus talking with Dean as they were moving their things into a compartment. "Seamus!" Alison called with glee, as she maneuvered her way around the other people in the hallway. But before she could greet her boyfriend with a kiss, he stopped her. "Seamus?" Alison questioned, bewildered.

"How can you act like nothing has changed between us since we left for the summer? Especially when you would have nothing to do with me over the summer," Seamus interrogated.

Alison, confused by his attitude, answered, "I told you before we left that I couldn't get letters by owl because I'm living completely surrounded by muggles."

"And yet you could visit with the Weasleys and Potter?"

"What?"

"I saw you walk through the barrier with them. Don't try to hide it."

"I'm not hiding anything. They were spending some time in London, and I visited with them. Why is that suddenly an Unforgiveable?"

Seamus gave Alison a hard look, "Do you believe Potter's story of what happened at the end of last year?"

"Yeah. Don't you?

"Of course not. Potter is crazy, and so is Dumbledore."

Alison took offense on their behalf, "How could you say that?"

"Of course you're taking Potter's side; you're probably in love with him. And since you're always spending so much time with the Weasley twins, you're probably doing it with them, aren't you?"

"What?" Alison said, extremely offended and angered at his accusations. "I am not in love with Harry, and just because I'm friends with boys doesn't mean I'm 'doing it' with them. You know I'm friends with Dean and I'm not 'doing it' with him."

"Yeah? I know that you were just using our relationship to get closer to Dean so that you could. You're just a whore, just like your non-existent mum probably was."

Alison couldn't hold back her anger any longer, and punched Seamus in the nose as hard as she could while screaming, "That's not true, and you know it, you donkey-butt! Stay away from me, or I'll do worse to you! I hate you!" Alison turned around and shoved her way through the forming crowd, leaving a bloodied broken-nosed Seamus behind.

Alison stormed into the twins' compartment and went straight to her trunk to find a book she could hide behind and distract herself with. However, the twins had other ideas.

"I thought you were going to spend more time with lover-boy," Fred comment with a smile, which quickly turned into a frown as he noticed the tears on her flushed face. "Are you – crying? What happened?"

Alison immediately wiped the tears that she hadn't noticed off of her face.

"Finnigan's a donkey-butt. He accused me of untrue things and insulted Harry, you, and Dumbledore. We argued and shouted, and I think half the train probably heard about our fight and break-up. At least, I'm pretty sure we broke up because I think I broke his nose," Alison concluded with an attempt at a smile and a joke.

"That's the sister we know," encouraged George.

Fred continued, "Doing things literally that most people don't have the guts to do."

"Like taking a leap," George provided.

"Or keeping our heads up," added Fred.

"Or answering the question: What's up."

"Or having our heads in the clouds."

"Or putting our feet in our mouths."

"Well, we haven't succeeded in making it rain cats and dogs yet," Alison offered with a smile. The twins smiled hugely back, glad that they succeeded in making her happy again.

Only a few minutes later, Lee, Alicia, and Angelina were at the door of the twins' and Alison's compartment.

"We heard about the fight you had with Seamus and wanted to make sure you were okay," Angelina explained as the three sat down in the compartment.

"I'm fine," Alison reassured with a small smile.

"So what was the fight about?" Lee inquired. "I mean, all we heard was that there was a fight that included insults, shouting, and you bloodying him."

"Lee," the twins warned simultaneously.

"It's okay," Alison said to placate her protective practically-brothers. "Finnigan apparently thinks that Harry and Dumbledore are crazy and because I believe them, I obviously am in love with Harry. Thankfully, he didn't also try to accuse me of being in love with Dumbledore for the same reason." Alison gave a shudder, and everyone in the compartment gave a laugh, as they saw how she was trying to lighten what Finnigan said to her.

Alison continued, "However, apparently Finnigan thinks that not only am I in love with Harry, but I was also using my relationship with Finnigan to get to my crush, Dean. He also thinks that I'm 'doing it' with you two." Alison gestured to the twins and made a thoughtful look appear on her face. "Though, he never specified if I was 'doing it' with only one of you or both of you and if it was at the same time. Oh, and he told me that I'm a whore just like my mother, which is okay because my mother never was a whore; so what he really said was that I'm not a whore even though he didn't mean it that way."

There was a pause in the conversation until Lee broke it, "So what your saying is that Finnigan is now at the top of Olopwatbup."

As the others gave Lee strange looks at the use of the word Olopwatbup, Lee and Alison both snickered as they remembered how they came up with the name Olopwatbup for their pranking list.

Alison finally answered, "That is exactly what I'm saying, Lee."

:) :) :) :) :)

With the exception of the sorting hat song, which gave a warning unlike other years, the feast began as usual: catching up with friends, cheering loudly for whichever first-years were sorted into their House, and enjoying the food and company. However, the feast deviated from the norm during Dumbledore's after-dinner speech.

Dumbledore began, "Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices. First years ought to know that the forest in the grounds is out of bounds to students – and a few of our older students ought to know by now too." Alison, Lee, and the twins exchanged smirks.

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four hundred and sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door."

"It's so sweet of Filch to write a list of all the things we should do before we graduate," Lee whispered to the twins and Alison who snickered.

"We have had two changes in staffing this year," Dumbledore continued. "We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was a round of polite but unenthusiastic applause during which Alison commented to the boys, "I hope Hagrid is okay."

Dumbledore resumed, "Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on the –"

He broke off, looking inquiringly at Umbridge. At first, nobody understood why Dumbledore had stopped talking. Then Umbridge said, "Hem, hem," and it became clear that she was intending to make a speech.

Dumbledore only looked taking aback for a second before sitting down smartly and looking at Umbridge alertly. However, the other staff members were not as adept at hiding their surprise. Professor Sprout's eyebrows had disappeared into her hair, and Professor McGonagall's mouth was thinner than when she caught the twins doing something she thought was inappropriate.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Umbridge simpered, "for those kind words of welcome."

Her voice was high-pitched, breathy, and little-girlish, and Alison shivered in disgust when she heard it. Umbridge cleared her throat again with another "Hem, hem" and continued, "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" She bared her teeth in a fake smile. "And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!"

Alicia mumbled, "So she can not only not speak but also not see 'cause nobody here is smiling."

Umbridge exclaimed, "I am very much looking forward to knowing you all, and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"

"We are not toddlers," Angelina whispered in disgust.

Umbridge cleared her throat yet again with another "Hem, hem," but when she continued, she sounded much more businesslike and her words had a dull learned-by-heart sound to them.

"The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down through the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching,"

Umbridge paused and made a little bow to her fellow staff members, none of which bowed back. Professor McGonagall's eyebrows had contracted so that she looked feral and ready to attack Umbridge.

When Umbridge cleared her throat yet again with yet another "Hem, hem," Fred commented, "I hope she chokes on whatever is stuck in her throat." Everyone who heard him gave a grunt or a nod in agreement.

Umbridge went on, "There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering."

"Do you hear her?" Alison whispered indignantly. "No tinkering, no progress. Who does she think she is?"

"Without any tinkering and progress, there would be no advancements or improvements in anything. Not spells, not potions, not objects, nothing," George expanded.

As the future Healer, Alicia added, "And look how much recent advances in healing potions and spells have cured illnesses and injuries and saved people's lives."

"She's obviously a Ministry idiot," Angelina said dismissively. "Listen to her."

Umbridge was saying, "… some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightfully so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited."

Umbridge finally sat down, and Dumbledore and some other people clapped. Dumbledore resumed his speech, "Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating."

Alicia snorted, "It certainly was illuminating. She basically told us that the Ministry is interfering at Hogwarts and they're changing things for the worse."

Lee stopped her, "This is the beginning of the year; so let's focus on the positives."

"Like what?" Alicia prompted.

"Like how I'm going to win the betting pool this year on how the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be disposed of," Lee replied smugly.

"Yeah? How?" Alicia taunted as the group got up to leave the Great Hall.

"McGonagall's going to kill her. Just look at her. Her cat instincts obviously are telling her to attack the small, pink, ugly-looking toad, and when McGonagall finally succumbs to her cat instincts after Umbridge wears her down, I'll win the betting pool."

The group laughed, and Alison said, "I'll put two Sickles towards that."

"Another positive," Angelina chimed in, "is that I'm Quidditch Captain so you all better be at tryouts on Friday, - even if it's only to support the team," Angelina added, forestalling Lee's protests that he and Alison were not trying out.

Fred began, "Another positive right now is that some of our products are ready to be tested by others."

George elaborated, "So we are going to pay younger students to test them for us so we can record the effects that the products have on varying ages, ethnicities, and genders."

"That's a great idea!" Alison exclaimed. "And Umbridge being here this year may be a positive for our business."

"How?" Lee asked, while the others looked bewildered also.

"With Umbridge's attitude and with all the restrictions I'm betting she's planning on enacting," Alison explained, "more and more kids are going to look for outlets for their frustrations with her, namely buying and using Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products. To put it in simple terms for you, Lee, Umbridge has just joined Finnigan at the top of Olopwatbup."

 **A/N**

 **Thank you all for reading! Check out my story The Story of an Orphan: First Year if you haven't already!**

 **Please review! I would love to hear about any comments, questions, concerns, or story ideas regarding this story that you have!**


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